Passage:7 Has He struck Israel as He struck those who struck him?
Or has He been slain according to the slaughter of those who were slain by Him?
8 In measure, by sending it away,
You contended with it.
He removes it by His rough wind
In the day of the east wind.
9 Therefore by this the iniquity of Jacob will be covered;
And this is all the fruit of taking away his sin:
When he makes all the stones of the altar
Like chalkstones that are beaten to dust,
Wooden images and incense altars shall not stand.
10 Yet the fortified city will be desolate,
The habitation forsaken and left like a wilderness;
There the calf will feed, and there it will lie down
And consume its branches.
11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off;
The women come and set them on fire.
For it is a people of no understanding;
Therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them,
And He who formed them will show them no favor.
12 And it shall come to pass in that day
That the LORD will thresh,
From the channel of the River to the Brook of Egypt;
And you will be gathered one by one,
O you children of Israel.
13 So it shall be in that day:
The great trumpet will be blown;
They will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria,
And they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt,
And shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem.
Journal: Yesterday, we saw that God not only wants to save His children, but He desires that they move from being unfruitful to being fruitful. A lack of fruit is tied to a lack of repentance, and a lack of repentance will remove God's mercy. That is, a vine that fashions itself as fruitful but does not repent of sin, is no more than a thorn or thistle that will be destroyed Him who tends the garden. [27:11 When its boughs are withered, they will be broken off; the women come and set them on fire. For it is a people of no understanding; therefore He who made them will not have mercy on them, and He who formed them will show them no favor."] One cannot genuinely claim to be fruitful while loving sin more than God. Chapter 27 ends with a great trumpet sound calling home the fruitful, the faithful children of God. As the redeemed are gathered at this great trumpet call, it will be with one voice that we sing our praises to God and for His great glory. ["27:13 So it shall be in that day: The great trumpet will be blown; they will come, who are about to perish in the land of Assyria, and they who are outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the LORD in the holy mount at Jerusalem."]
Heard 'Round the House:
Vera [age 8; down syndrome] and Emma [age 7; down syndrome] had their first "angel league" [special needs] basketball practice yesterday. Per Jill, Vera was knocking down shots right and left on the nine foot goal. Emma? Not so much, though it didn't appear to bother her. They both had on their game jerseys when I got home last night, and Vera wore hers to bed over another shirt. Vera is a hoot. She also has a Dallas Maverick game jersey that she wears all the time. We have one of those inside goals that you put on the top of the door that is a little rim with a little ball. Apparently, she watches games pretty closely on TV, especially when players are at the free throw line. I say this because right before she shoots on the little inside goal, she will take her Maverick jersey and pull it up over her face and wipe the sweat off of her face. It is spot on. Priceless . . .
